The solution? Put your phone far away from your bed before you fall asleep. Not only will it prevent you from logging back on when you need a scheduled rest, but it will also force you to get out of bed in the morning to shut off your alarm.

2. Pay attention to where you're sleeping.

In order to wake up early, you need to make sure you don't go to bed late. If you're finding yourself following a poor sleep schedule, or if you're having any difficulty falling asleep in the first place, try separating your night-time activities from their designated locations. Watch TV on the couch in the living room. Read a book in your comfortable recliner. Use your bed to sleep--not check email, watch movies, or anything else, but sleep. That way, when you hop in your mind and body will already know what to do.

3. Trick and train yourself.

Not everyone has it in them to immediately start their day at 5:00 a.m. But everyone can try. It is possible to reset your circadian clock with a little discipline. According to the New York Times:

"To start, move up your wake-up time by 20 minutes a day. If you regularly rise at 8 a.m., but really want to get moving at 6 a.m., set the alarm for 7:40 on Monday. The next day, set it for 7:20 and so on. Then, after you wake up, don't linger in bed. Hit yourself with light. In theory, you'll gradually get sleepy about 20 minutes earlier each night, and you can facilitate the transition by avoiding extra light exposure from computers or televisions as you near bedtime."

Becoming a healthy and successful sleeper involves both short- and long-term strategies. Luckily, these solutions are hardly complex, so should you choose, you will get to bed and actually sleep--and rise from it--in no time.

Published on: Apr 16, 2018

The opinions expressed here by Inc.com columnists are their own, not those of Inc.com.